“We’ve got a long glide path before GM is in the market
and I think that’s going to be a huge advantage for us,” Fred Diaz, president of the Ram truck brand, told reporters today
during a briefing in Detroit. The company has started making
2013 Rams and “from every indication we’re hearing,” it
doesn’t expect GM to start selling revamped full-size trucks
until “the summer of next year,” he said.

The new trucks are crucial for Chief Executive Officer
Sergio Marchionne because the models are among Chrysler’s most
profitable. The Auburn Hills, Michigan-based automaker’s 24
percent U.S. sales gain this year is boosting profits and
offsetting losses in Europe for its majority owner, Fiat SpA. (F)
Ram pickup deliveries rose 20 percent through September, topping
gains of 11 percent by Ford’s F-Series and 0.6 percent by GM’s
Chevrolet Silverado.

Chrysler today showed reporters one 60-second and four 30-second commercials that begin airing Oct. 12 promoting the 2013
Ram 1500. The ads include special effects in which a crack in
the ground opens up between two cities and brings them closer
together, highlighting the new pickup’s fuel economy and using
the tag line “engineered to move heaven and earth.”

Loyal Buyers

The marketing campaign has added significance because truck
owners tend to continue to buy the same brand more so than
owners of vehicles in other segments, Diaz said.

“We know how incredibly loyal truck buyers are,” he said.
“If we can get somebody into our dealership and get them behind
the wheel of that Ram truck, they’re sold.”

Ram’s 1500 will achieve 21 miles (34 kilometers) per gallon
in combined city and highway driving. Chrysler has said its new
light-duty pickups will top U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
ratings of 19 mpg for Ford’s 2012 F-150 flex-fuel version and 18
mpg for GM’s similar 2012 Chevrolet Silverado.

The 1500 will be available with six- and eight-cylinder
engines that improve mileage from their predecessors by as much
as 20 percent, according to Chrysler. The automaker is making
its eight-speed transmission standard with smaller engines in
the truck, which will start at $23,585 including a $995
destination charge.

Ram Commercial

Chrysler is creating a new Ram Commercial division within
its Ram truck brand aimed at fleet buyers and small businesses
as it introduces new heavy-duty pickups next year. Diaz said
last month that the heavy-duty pickups will have best-in-class
towing capabilities, which will be detailed along with pricing
in January at the Detroit auto show.

Diaz has said Chrysler is considering added production of
its Ram pickups. The automaker assembles the Ram 1500 at a
Warren, Michigan, plant that operates on two shifts.

Chrysler sped up the line rate at its heavy-duty truck
plant in Saltillo, Mexico, in August, Mike Cairns, head of Ram
truck engineering, said last month. Jodi Tinson, a company
spokeswoman, declined to say how many additional trucks will be
built as a result of the move.